


Quiet Reader

by TheCatholicFanGirl



Series: 712 More Things To Write About [2]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: 712 More Things To Write About, Awkward Daryl, Books, F/M, Ignoring Beth's death, John Green Books, Library, They find a new town, Written before the latest episode if you can believe it.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-03-11 06:58:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3318242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCatholicFanGirl/pseuds/TheCatholicFanGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daryl frowned and picked up the book and held her place while he turned it to the first page. “The way I see it,” the book read “everyone gets a miracle.” Then he was lost in this story of how these two kids found a body.</p>
<p>	Beth came back. “Sorry, Carl likes to keep the check-out log near the comics because…” her speech slowed down when she saw he was reading her book.</p>
<p>	“Sorry,” he said and held open her page to her. “I didn’t lose your place, I promise.” He insisted.</p>
<p>	“Oh I’ve read Paper Towns so many times, it’s kind of stupid that I have.” She said offhandedly, she then revised her statement. “I mean, I wouldn’t care if you lost my place. I was just shocked because…”</p>
<p>	“Because I don’t read?” he offered.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Quiet Reader

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Should I stay or should I go?

All in all, the small town was actually beautiful. It had some of its houses burnt to a crisp, and it had its weak points, but if Rick saw something great becoming of this, so did Daryl. This was the longest they’d ever stayed in a place since ever. Two years, four months, two weeks and three days. Glenn had been counting for him. It made Daryl want to crawl out of his skin. He just kept thinking something was going to happen, like…

            He would stop his train of thought there. He didn’t want to think of what would happen. Because thinking it would make it true.

            Daryl nodded at Michonne who swaggered up to the south gate. The gate that Daryl had been watching since three this morning. “How’s it been?” she asked climbing up.

            Daryl shrugged and shouldered his bow. “The same. Quiet.” He leant down to help her up.

            “Hope it’ll be quiet for me too.” Michonne grinned and then gave Daryl a goofy look and jumped down outside the gate. She felt better down there. Easier to kill Walkers that way, but the moment Rick would see her down there, he would make a fuss. “Oh, can you grab that book I left on my bedside table and turn it in to the library?”

            Daryl winced and scratched the back of his greasy head. “Yah.”

            Michonne beamed up at him and then turned to take her shift.

            The library that Carl and Beth found was a two story book store before the turn, it was rickety and the two of them practically slept in there. It wasn’t until an incident at the East Gate that Carl started to take shifts at the gates regularly, leaving Beth alone in a world of books. Daryl rarely saw her, and ever since they rescued her from the hospital, they’d been distant.

            This made everyone practically force him to go into the library to see her. To drop off her lunch portions for the day. To give her a message from Maggie to her. And just recently, have book be returned to the library.

            He walked into Michonne’s quarters and nodded at Rick, picked up the book and walked right back out.

            Walking into the library he saw Beth sitting cross legged on the counter reading a book. Her hair was piled on top of her head, and it looked like she was wearing pajama bottoms. Daryl smiled when he saw her, but when she saw him his smile fell.

            She forced a grin. “Hey, whadda doing here?”

            He lifted the book and handed it to her. “Michonne…”

            “Oh!” she slid down off of the counter. “Wait right here.” She demanded and ran off to the furthest side of the library.

            Daryl watched as her pony tail disappeared in the stacks and settled down against the counter and glanced at her book she was reading. It was a thin book, and she had highlighted a sentence with bright green highlighter.

> _“Like, each of us starts out as a watertight vessel. And these things happen --- these people leave us, or they don’t love us, or they don’t get us, or we don’t get them, and we lose and fail and hurt one another. And the vessel starts to crack open in places. And I mean, yeah, once the vessel cracks open, the end becomes inevitable.”_

Daryl frowned and picked up the book and held her place while he turned it to the first page. “The way I see it,” the book read “everyone gets a miracle.” Then he was lost in this story of how these two kids found a body.

            Beth came back. “Sorry, Carl likes to keep the check-out log near the comics because…” her speech slowed down when she saw he was reading her book.

            “Sorry,” he said and held open her page to her. “I didn’t lose your place, I promise.” He insisted.

            “Oh I’ve read _Paper Towns_ so many times, it’s kind of stupid that I have.” She said offhandedly, she then revised her statement. “I mean, I wouldn’t care if you lost my place. I was just shocked because…”

            “Because I don’t read?” he offered.

            She shrugged and scratched her arm. “Yeah, well, there’s like thousands of those copies, so if you want a fresh one… I kind of spilt soup on it, and it’s got some Walker juice on it too…”

            He swallowed. “Is it good?”

            “Yeah, totally, it’s about this girl who runs away from home, and she leaves clues for her friends to find her.”

            “Why’d she do that?” Daryl asked.

            Beth opened her mouth and then closed it smiling. “You should read it. I’ll get you a fresh one…” she walked off.

            It became a regular thing with Daryl, he’d read the book all day and all night, and finish by the end of the week, he’d go visit Beth and return that one and read another. He’d gotten through nearly all of the teen fiction; novels like _Hoot_ and _The Lightning Thief_ and even _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone_ (though when Beth told him it was originally titled the _Philosopher’s Stone_ he started to refer it to that instead of the other title). Daryl knew he liked young adult novels, and was ashamed of it until he saw Rick reading _Harry Potter_ he felt better about it. He hated Romance, and after reading _50 Shades of Grey_ , as suggested by some of the elder ladies of the town, he broke into the library and ‘accidentally’ burnt the sixty copies Beth had lying around. He liked the idea of reading Sci-fi and Mystery, but the novels he picked up used really big and awkward words that he didn’t like, the words swam on the page, and he ended up getting so frustrated with himself he’d be back the next day to return it.

            Beth seemed to understand when he said he didn’t like the books he couldn’t read. However, she could fake a good poker face when he said he didn’t like _The_ _Hunger Games._ He couldn’t get past the first few pages. “What?” he asked

She shook her head. “Nothin’ it’s just one of my favorite books.” She forced a grin and then dragged him and demanded that he read _Looking for Alaska_.

            He then tried to find a time when she _wasn’t_ in the library to try and read _The Hunger Games_ again. That was nearly impossible. She _lived_ there. So he’d wait until she had a crowd of people, and then go and wander off to find the damned book, but never could.

            Meanwhile, she had him read _Hatchet_ and _Where the Red Fern Grows_ (he doesn’t like to admit that he cried like Judith in the end) and his absolute favorite _My Side of the Mountain_.

            He came in to turn in _My Side of the Mountain_ during her busy time. She currently was talking with a very pregnant Maggie, and looking really engrossed (he’d learned that word from reading a book, he was kind of excited about it) in the conversation.  He handed her the book with a shy grin and slipped away to where he thought he’d might find it again.

            He couldn’t find _The Hunger Games_ , and he was starting to get pissed.

            She finally came around a corner and grinned at him. “Sorry, I had to pull away from Maggie, since the baby she’s been unbearable… whatcha lookin’ for?”

            He shook his head. “Nothin… just lookin…”

            “Have you read _To Kill a Mockingbird_? It might be a bit hard for you, but it’s really good if you liked _My Side of the Mountain_.” She nodded.

            “Merle read that in grade school, he said that it was stupid.” Daryl chewed on his bottom lip.

            “Well, I won’t tell Merle if you don’t.” she joked lightly.

            He blushed. “Yah…”

            “If you don’t want to read that though, you can try _Catcher in the Rye_?”

            “I read that in school, I didn’t like it.” He shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets.”

            “C’mon now, you’re being difficult, I’m trying to graduate you to classics…”

            “ _Catcher in the Rye_ is a classic? Says who?”

            Beth opened her mouth and then shut it. “You’re right.” She sighed and scratched her head. “I don’t know what else to give you then… and my brain is fried too.”

            “I… uh… I’d like to try reading a book…” he swallowed.

            She raised her eye brows. “Okay.”

            “ _The Hunger Games_? I’d like to give it another shot.”

            She seemed taken aback.

            “I’ve been trying to look for it.” He shrugged. “I just couldn’t find it.”

            “Oh, that’s because it’s been pretty popular, and now I’ve been reading it.” She laughed and grabbed his hand. “C’mon we’ll read it together.”

            “I don’t want to…”

            “Nonsense, I just started, I’m on like page one.” She quieted his doubts and sat him down at the circulation desk. Sitting next to him, she propped open the book on the table and said. “Just tell me when you’re ready to turn the page.” She hummed and began reading.

            She had finished way before him and he swallowed embarrassed.

            “Were you finished?” she asked.

            He shook his head. “Sorry…”

            “Don’t be.” She stated and turned back a page.

            He read as fast as he could but he couldn’t get past the first paragraph on the first page. The words started to swim off the page and down into his and Beth’s lap. He tugged on his ear. “Maybe…” he shook his head and tried to read again.

            “Are… are you having trouble reading?” she asked gently.

            He wanted to blow up at her, but he hated to yell at her, so he didn’t. “Yeah…” he chewed on his thumb.

            “Did you have trouble reading when you were younger?”

            He nodded. “Teachers thought I was stupid, they were right.” He shrugged not meeting her eyes.

            She frowned and took his face in her hands. The sudden contact made his heart do a zero to eighty in seconds. “You’ve been reading a lot of books though.” She frowned. “Like one a week.”

            He shrugged. “Yeah, and I read them day and night. Ask Rick, he’s seen me read while I’m on gate watch.” He shrugged.

            “You mean, you don’t finish the books within a few days?”

            He shook his head. “No, when I finish the book is when I walk in to get a new one.”

            Her blue eyes filled with tears.

            He felt bad and swallowed. “I’m sorry…”

            She sniffled and shook her head. “No, no, Daryl, I think you have a learning disability. Something that makes it hard for you to read like the average person.” She stroked a thumb against his cheekbone.

            “Oh,” he frowned and looked down. “So you’re cryin’ because I’m stupid?”

            She laughed lightly. “You’re not stupid, Daryl. I’m cryin’ because I’ve never seen someone work so hard to read despite how difficult it is to read.”

            He blushed. “Well…”

            “You are such a good man, Daryl Dixon.” She whispered.

            He shook his head. “No I ain’t.”

            Beth pressed a kiss against his forehead, and shook her head. “I’ll fight anybody that says otherwise, including you. In the meantime, let’s go upstairs and I’ll read to you.”

            Then that became the new routine. Beth would close down the library during lunch and read to him for an hour while they laid on her bed. Then after his gate shift he’d come in and she’d read to him for another hour by flashlight. When things were settled and calm, she’d read to him. Her voice was sweet as honey, and it was melodic. When she read aloud, he felt as if they had built themselves into their own little room. Where no one would ever come in uninvited or unannounced. Often, he fell asleep to her reading, and felt horrible every time he did, but her voice made him feel so gawdamned safe and soft he couldn’t help it.

            Rick showed up on the North Gate on Sunday while Daryl was working. “Hey,” Daryl greeted.

            “Hey.” Rick sighed and sat down and hung his legs over the side. “Weird, it’s like they’re all gone now…”

            Daryl nodded. It had been quiet for the past few weeks

            “Daryl, you’re my brother, and I’m not gonna go and accuse you of anythin’…” Rick started.

            Daryl frowned at him.

            “But what’s going on with you and Beth?” he asked squinting up at Daryl.

            Daryl swallowed and shrugged. “Nothin’s goin’ on.”

            “Maggie told Glenn, and Glenn told me that Maggie thought that you were getting too close to her. If you aren’t I’ll tell Glenn and Maggie to shut up.”

            “If there is?” Daryl spat.

            “I don’t know.” Rick told him truthfully.

            Daryl sat down heavily. “We haven’t had sex or kissed or nothin’.”

            “But…”

            “But… there is something there… I think, just on my side of things though.” Daryl chewed his thumb. “I like her a lot. She’s nice to be around.”

            Rick nodded. “I think it’s just the age that’s gotten some people worried.”

            Daryl wanted to cry from embarrassment. “Don’t you think I see that?” he roared.

            Rick closed his eyes. “Daryl…”

            Daryl calmed down and he started to chew his thumb. “Jus… there’s times when we’re together, I fall asleep, an’ I feel bad about it because I just want to spend time with her while ‘m awake y’know? But being in that library and listening to her talk, it makes me feel…”

            “Calm?”

            “Safe.”

            “Oh.”

            “Yeah, oh. She’s not perfect I see that, like… she is too stubborn, and so with me that’s not… good. She likes these poems by this guy who reminds me of winter…”

            “What?”

            “Robert… something…”

            “Robert Frost?”

            Daryl nodded. “Yeah, that’s him. I don’t even get his stuff. She reads a lot of romance novels, so she has this idea of her perfect guy already, and here I am, but she still wants to read to me and just… I don’t know…”

            Rick nodded. “If you had the option, would you have sex with her?”

            Daryl put his hands under his thighs. “If she wanted to, maybe…”

            It was silent for a long time when finally the snarling of a lone walker broke it. Daryl let out a huge sigh and shot the damned thing with his arrow.

            “The way I see it…” Rick started and licked his lips. “She makes you feel safe right?”

            Daryl nodded.

            “That is a gift. Especially now. It’s a luxury that I can’t even give Carl or Judith fully. It’s something that should be cherished.”

            Daryl bit the inside of his cheek.

            “So, I’m not saying you have my blessing, but I’d root for you.” Rick said and squeezed Daryl’s shoulder.

            “Thanks.” Daryl gave him a crooked smile.

            After Rick took over Daryl’s shift, he felt more bothered by the idea of him and Beth. It didn’t help when he walked into the library, shooed the last few people milling around, locked up, and then found Beth sitting at what once was the cafeteria for the bookstore. Now it was a useless and gutted kitchen. She was writing in her journal by candlelight. “Hey,” he smiled at her and sat across from her.

            She smiled up at him. “Daryl Dixon, didn’t you have your shift until twelve tonight?” she chided.

            “Rick let me off early.” Daryl shrugged.

            “Awful nice of him.”

            “It was.” He smiled.

            “You ready for the next chapter?”

            He nodded and they walked up the grand staircase and curled up on the bed. She began reading and he felt the weight he didn’t know that was on his shoulders melt away.

            After about twenty pages in, she coughed and winced. “I’ve been catching something.” She admitted.

            Daryl processed her words. “Then you shouldn’t be reading anything aloud. Does your voice hurt?”

            She nodded and stretched. “We only have five more pages in this chapter though…”

            “It’s okay, I should be going back soon. It’s been getting darker out recently. Must be getting close to winter.” He stated and stood.

            “Wait.” Beth sat up. “Why don’t you stay?” she begged and bit her lip. “Stay here, just for one night?”

            In the dim light, Daryl knew that he couldn’t say no to those powder blue eyes. He sat down and loosened his shoes and settled into Beth’s bed. “Good night.”

            “Good night.” She smiled and scooted closer to him.

            Daryl was glad he stayed.

**Author's Note:**

> I know this had nothing to do with the prompt really but I've decided I write something related to it. Eh. Whatever. Come join the fun on my tumblr! Same name and everything!


End file.
